Windows 7 build 6956 leaks to web as a VHD

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Saturday, 06 December 2008 05:18

Opinion and Analysis

An operating system ISO is a great place to hide malware, a rootkit or other crimware, so naturally anyone trying to get this build of Windows 7 is doing so as their own risk.

There is no ISO as yet anyway, for the time being all there appears to be a is a VHD download which then needs to be either run in virtualisation software or mounted via Windows 7 6801.

The joejoe.com site has a thread on Windows 7 6956 as does a site called “Facepunch Studios” which has a Windows 7 megathread.

Discussion of the leaked VHD appears at the end of page 41, with all the talk on page 42 and 43 about people trying to download the VHD, attempts by “Chinese hackers” to turn it back into an installable ISO and more.

No doubt there’ll be a lot more news and information about this over the next few days, especially if a proper ISO is created.

If so, it’ll spread across the Internet like wildfire, with many using the Windows 7 6801 pre-beta strong candidates to want to try out build 6956.

After all, they’re already using a pre-beta – who wouldn’t want to try the newest code and be amongst those running the very latest and greatest from Microsoft pre the official beta release, especially if the code is (supposedly) better than what Windows 7 6801 users are running now?

At least the real beta is just over a month away, so there’s not too much longer to wait for those that want to do things the “safe” way.

And just because a Microsoft blog has named January 13 as the date for the first real beta, that doesn’t mean it won’t come out earlier, or perhaps even be available for download on January 8 or 9, after Ballmer’s pre-CES keynote demo.

So, the Windows 7 bandwagon keeps on rolling, with plenty of impatient Windows fans ready to jump on board, in the hope and expectation that Windows 7 will be everything that Vista wasn’t.

Update: Here's a link to detailed Windows 7 6956 VHD installation instructions.

Update 2: Here's the link to my new "Windows 7 6956 VHD converted to ISO already!" story.